Questions from Kids 2--Why Did They Put the River Next to the Mill?

See the first question here.

A few years ago I was driving by the ruins of a local mill (the ever popular (at least on this blog) Savage Mill) when my toddler asked, "Why did they put the river next to the mill?" After resisting a good chuckle at his expense, I said we should go visit the mill to see if we could figure it out.

Savage Mill was built over 200 years ago and primarily manufactured canvas from cotton. The mill spawned a whole town nearby, with housing for the workers and the owner, a school, and a social hall. The mill complex is big and has different buildings where the work was done.

View from the parking lot

Spinning Building with the bell tower in the background 

New Weave Building

Recreations of what they made/used

The mill is nearby the Little Patuxent River which eventually joins the Patuxent River near Crofton, Maryland. This area of Maryland had lots of mills because of the many rivers, nearby farms, and railroad tracks to the port city Baltimore. The Bollman Bridge is right by Savage Mill and spans the Little Patuxent. The river is a source of plentiful free power for the machinery in the mill.

But it wasn't always reliable. If there was a drought or even just a dry spell, the level of the river would go down and could reduce how much power was produced. To mitigate the problem, the builders of the mill dug a run, which is basically a large, long trench to divert water off the river. The remains of the run can be seen behind the mill.

They even built a stone wall to keep the water in!

"Run" the ropes course!

Signs at the mill explain that a sort of well was built just before the water wheel, so that the water could accumulate and drop at specific speeds based on how much equipment was being used.

What's left of the well

The water then flowed back into the Little Patuxent. The impact on the river was minimal.

So it turns out my son's question was much more astute than I gave him credit for...they did put the river next to the mill! I had a good chuckle at my expense.

The other thing I noticed is how much the back entrance of the mill looks like a two-car garage entrance.

Maybe a two-carriage entrance?